CLINICO-RADIOLOGICAL, ETIOLOGICALAND MICROBIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF EMPYEMA THORACIS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Thoracic empyema is an infectious process dened by frank pus in the pleural space. It is a common chest related condition that carries 1 signicant morbidity and mortality worldwide . The main causes of thoracic empyema includes pulmonary infections (tuberculosis accounts for majority) and thoracic trauma. Empyema thoracis remains a common problem both in the developed as well as developing countries. Clinical presentation of an empyema depends on both the nature of infecting organism and the patient's immune response. It ranges from complete absence of symptoms to severe illness with systemic toxicity. Clinical presentation of empyema is highly variable such as respiratory distress, cough, fever, chest pain, and constitutional symptoms. Pleural empyema results from either direct contiguous spread of the infection, penetrating chest trauma, or an iatrogenic condition resulting due to surgical instrumentation of the 2, 3. pleural space Tubercular infection being most common in India shows low spectrum of bacteriological activity in sputum and pleural 4 uid . The fundamental step in the diagnosis and management of empyema is chest imaging. Ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) scanning have greater sensitivity for uid detection and provide additional information for determining the extent and 5 nature of the pleural involvement . Empyema thoracis, needs clinical, microbiological and radiological evaluation for better management and outcome. Hence this study was conducted in the chest and TB hospital, Amritsar to study the clinical, radiological and microbiological prole of empyema.